Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders from USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Yarros.
I am a reluctant fantasy reader so when this book was recommended to me by another avid reader, I will admit I was skeptical. Add that it is classified as a “New Adult Romance” on Goodreads and I had even fewer expectations. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good romance, but they are usually crafted in predictable ways that don’t hold my interest the same way as genres like horror and suspense do. However, I devoured this book and am classifying it as one of my favorite reads of the year (so far).
Fourth Wing was masterfully crafted, and Yarros knows how to keep the action both believable and effectively building on itself. Where most fantasy romances spend the first act getting the characters together, and once together they only have eyes for each other while the broader world and the action outside the bedroom is somehow forgotten until the end, this one was completely different. The world is exciting, the enemies to lovers trope isn’t predictable, and even when they give into their attraction, the world around them is still the most important and exciting thing happening. The end was satisfying because it broadened the world with promise of more in the series but didn’t leave me hanging with an unsatisfying cliffhanger.
Main character, Violet, is the bookworm daughter of a top general who gets told she can’t do what she wants with her life – be a scholar like her father living among books and history – and is ordered to join the hundreds of cadets hoping to become dragon riders. Her sworn enemy is Xaden, the most powerful and ruthless wing leader two years her senior. He’s also the son of the leader of a rebellion uprising where Violet lost her older brother years ago.
I liked that Violet was not some badass who already kicked ass. She is small and weak and clearly disadvantaged in this world she never chose for herself. We get to see her overcome these physical weaknesses with her brains because her nature is to be smart and resourceful. I also liked that nothing is black and white in this world. People who are clearly not worthy of bonding with a dragon still bonded with a dragon, because human nature is messy. Every character has a flaw which made it all the more believable.
Content warning, there are about three scenes of on-the-page explicit male-female sex. If you love romance with this, it is hot and well done but doesn’t devolve into being the only thing you see in act two which so often happens with the romance genre. If you’re looking for your next great read, I highly recommend adding this one in your to-be-read (TBR) list – even if you don’t usually read fantasy or romance genres.